Hello everyone. Welcome to the twenty-fourth edition of JOT This Down!
This will be the final edition of the year. Thanks to everyone who read along all season. Best of luck as you close out your seasons, hopefully I was able to help some of you bring home a title!
Week 24 (March 25th-31st)
*Vancouver plays 2 games on light days (Monday and Sunday.)
Hello everyone. Welcome to the twenty-third edition of JOT This Down!
Keep the questions, comments, and concerns coming. I’ll be here all week to answer any and everything you may have.
It wouldn't be the first time that a Sabres trade acquisition got off to a hot start before flaming out, but this one looks different. Bowen Byram was a monster again on Tuesday, scoring two goals on four shots finishing +4 in the 7-3 win over the Red Wings. They'll have to win their next two games against the Islanders and Red Wings again, but the Sabres are creeping back onto the fringe of the playoff race. Byram's workload in his three games as a Sabre are that of a #1 defenseman, even if that honor goes to Dahlin. There's no doubting Byram's ability, and he's looking like a guy who can be a huge difference maker down the stretch this season and beyond. He's clear must own everywhere. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Hello everyone. Welcome to the twenty-second edition of JOT This Down!
Keep the questions, comments, and concerns coming. I’ll be here all week to answer any and everything you may have.
With the fantasy season dwindling, the slate is what matters most this time of year. Be sure to drop fringe players if they only play 2 games, and replace them with guys that will play 4 games.
While Friday was mostly quiet, there were a couple big moves along with some nice depth acquisitions. I'm going to cover those moves and give some first impressions on players with their new teams. Let's get to it!
Winnipeg acquired Tyler Toffoli from the Devils for second and third round picks. Toffoli didn't play on Saturday so we don't know exactly where he'll slot in, but I love this move for Winnipeg. With a healthy Toffoli and Vilardi, it's a loaded top six with good depth behind them. Toffoli is owned almost everywhere, so saying that he's a hold everywhere doesn't really change anything. The upside is undeniable, whether he plays with Scheifele and presumably Connor, or with Ehlers and Monahan. Going from the team with the worst goaltending to arguably the best should fix the plus-minus and the shot rate should stay at 3+. What will swing his value the most is whether he goes on the first power play unit. They have Connor, Scheifele and Morrissey as locks. Then you have two spots for Toffoli, Vilardi, Ehlers and Monahan. We should find out on Monday, although Vilardi being out increases his chances, especially because Bowness hates Ehlers for reasons unknown. I would bet on a big finish from Toffoli.
It's been a disastrous season for the Wild, and it's hard to imagine them digging out of this hole. Monday was a lone bright spot, both for the team and their oldest player. The Wild beat the Islanders 5-0, with Marc-Andre Fleury posting a 21 save shutout. The win gave Fleury the second most wins in NHL history, passing Patrick Roy. It's been a very up and down career for Fleury. He was incredible in the 2008 playoffs getting Pittsburgh to the finals. His most iconic moment clinched the Cup the year after. There were a handful of years right after that where his poor play was the reason the Penguins were eliminated early in the playoffs. They won a Stanley Cup with him as the backup. He also saved them the next year when Murray struggled early in the playoffs to lead Pittsburgh to back-to-back cups. He carried Vegas to the Cup finals in their inaugural season. That's how I'm going to remember MAF. There were too many down years for him to be in that inner circle of all-time goalies, and his best generally wasn't among the current elite, as evidenced by him being a Vezina finalist once in 20 seasons. However, when he was at his best, it was incredible to watch, and that will put him in the Hockey Hall of Fame sooner than later. For this season, Gustavsson is back, so I expect them to split the games fairly evenly. He's a streamer in good matchups for now, but like most goalies, MAF can turn into a hold sooner than later, or be complete unusable. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
When the Flames acquired Yegor Sharangovich and a third round pick for Toffoli, the consensus was the Flames didn't get nearly enough for Toffoli off a 34 goal season. Well, here we are at the midway point of the season, and Sharangovich has more goals than Toffoli. Sharagovich had a hat trick on six shots on Thursday in the 6-2 victory over the Coyotes. That gives him 17+30 in 42 games. The minutes have been through the roof lately, and Sharangovich has rewarded Huska with 6+5 and over three shots per game in his last ten appearances. His speed is an absolute weapon and he's starting to be a focal point on the power play. At the end of the day, Sharangovich is probably somebody who is on the fringe, but for now, he's a definite hold. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
For most of last season, Zach Hyman led the league in expected goals. By the end of the season, he had a career high with 36 goals, but didn't even sniff the league lead. This season, he's starting to finish at an elite level, resulting in him pushing towards the league lead in goals. Hyman had a hat trick on eight shots on Saturday, carrying the Oilers to a 3-1 win over the Senators. That gives Hyman 25 goals on the season to go along with 15 assists, a +13 rating, 32 PIM, and almost four shots on goal per game. He's been a top ten forward so far, and while I expect a bit of a drop off in the second half, I don't see much of one coming. That's how good Hyman has been. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
It wouldn't be this Buffalo Sabres season if they didn't blow out an elite team after getting buried by a bottom feeder. The Sabres beat Toronto 9-3 on Thursday, becoming the first team in 40 years to score 9 goals in a game after conceding 9 in their previous game. Does this change my opinion on anyone on the Sabres? No, not really, they're just going to be an up and down team. The one notable thing is that Jack Quinn scored a goal on three shots with four PIM in his second game of the season. Quinn had a solid rookie season but suffered an Achilles injury in the offseason, setting back his sophomore season. It's encouraging that even with a fully healthy lineup, Quinn's line was getting plenty of usage. He's a middling streamer for now, but there's upside to an elite streamer this season, while Quinn has clear potential to be a permanent hold for years in dynasties. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
It's been a painful 13 years as a Sabres fan, but Tuesday's game might have been the worst. There were tanking years, there were disappointing years, but for as bad as it's been, there can't be a worse loss than giving up nine goals at home to one of the worst teams in the league missing two of their best players. "Kirill Marchenko is a lone bright spot lately. I’m not holding, but the minutes are going up, the goals and shots are decent enough, and he currently is a key figure on their PP. He’s a solid streamer." And that's me quoting me from yesterday! Well, it's time to give Marchenko a boost. Marchenko had a natural hat trick in this game. One of his goals was on the power play, he put four shots on goal, and he played 15 minutes despite the game being a blow out. Marchenko is now an elite streamer. Let's take a look at what else happened on Tuesday night:
Fantasy Hockey Weekly Newsletter: Week 11
Hello everyone. Welcome to the eleventh edition of JOT This Down!
Keep the questions, comments, and concerns coming. I’ll be here all week to answer any and everything you may have.
The Leafs were coming off a dominant victory over the Rangers heading into a home game against Columbus. They managed to go down 5-0 in the second, and it was that way heading into the third period. Then, as we've seen in the past, Toronto made a massive rally, tying the game with 45 seconds left to earn a point. Then, like usual, they managed to lose anyways. The 6-5 OT win for Columbus is one of the craziest games you'll ever seen. Auston Matthews led the comeback with two goals and an assist with nine shots. Patrik Laine scored an early goal before leaving the game injured, while Kent Johnson was the hero. The former fifth overall pick had two goals and an assist, including the game winner. It's undeniably been a slow start to Johnson's career. However, for most players, it takes time, and we're starting to see the signs. Johnson now has six points in his last four games, and if Laine is down for a while, we could see Johnson becoming a fantasy factor. For now, I'm bumping him up to middling streamer, but he's definitely worth monitoring. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
